A new report from OpenTheBooks.com highlights the absolute boondoggle created by federal COVID assistance to the 20 largest “nonprofit” hospital corporations in the U.S. While sitting on billions of assets, and paying their executives 8-figure salaries, these hospital systems laughed all the way to the bank as the pandemic raged. Grandparents perished on ventilators, and more cash rolled in for each ventilated patient, and then for each death coded as COVID-related. Adding insult to injury, the vast majority of these hospitals are flouting federal price transparency rules that require them to disclose all their secret prices cooked up with insurance carriers to the public.
“The 20 largest non-profit hospital systems saw their combined net assets soar 62 percent, or $124 billion, in the three years to 2021. You — the U.S. taxpayer — funded rocket ride. Examples:
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- The world-famous Mayo Clinic: Astounding 92 percent jump to $17.7 billion in 2021 from $9.2 billion in 2018.
- Cleveland Clinic Health System: Up 60 percent to $15.6 billion in 2021.
- Intermountain Healthcare: Up 63 percent to $11.6 billion. Tellingly, Colorado Governor Jared Polis had earlier cited Colorado hospitals for ‘non-profit profiteering.’
- Northwestern Medicine: Up 43 percent to 11.9 billion.
- Indiana University Health System: Up 47 percent to $10.3 billion from $7 billion in 2018.
“Yet, not one of these systems complied fully with U.S. government price transparency rules, according to a key health care watchdog.”